Will McCormack and Rashida Jones. (Andrew Toth/PatrickMcMullan.com)

It isn’t rare for Hollywood stars to step out of the spotlight and behind the scenes of late, with names as big as Madonna and Angelina Jolie getting Oscar buzz last year for their stints in the director’s chair. The newest actor-turned-something-else is Parks and Recreation star Rashida Jones, who, along with friend and fellow actor Will McCormack, wrote the script for new release Celeste and Jesse Forever, in which they both appear. (Read our review here.) At last night’s Peggy Siegal Company special screening, in support of the International Rescue Committee, Ms. Jones and Mr. McCormack gave The Observer the lowdown on writing their own characters. “Most people would write a superhero, or some kind of animated character, I just picked a business woman,” joked Ms. Jones. “Thats my aspiration.”

“So no fantasy role that you’ve always been dying to give yourself?” we asked.

“I just wanted a character that could run the gamut of emotion,” came the honest response. “I got a chance to be kind of unlikable, and that was great,” Ms. Jones reported.

Mr. McCormack gave us a more personal side to the story.  “We dated for three weeks back in 1999,” he told The Observer of his relationship to Ms. Jones, “We were set  up by my sister, she said we were going to be soul mates. And we actually are, but just better as friends.”  Mr. McCormack, however, does not play the romantic interest but a character named Skillz: the movie’s generous provider of comic relief and marijuana, both in copious amounts.  His fantasy movie role? “Skillz.”

“I was happy to play the pot dealer,” he told us meaningfully “I felt very connected to that part.”

Celeste and Jesse Forever opens tomorrow, August 3, in NYC.

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